Days like these ...
07/08/2025
"I've been waiting for this day for weeks. And dance for joy on the asphalt," Nico Hülkenberg might have sung on Sunday!
Two people could agree with the song by Die Toten Hosen last Sunday. One is Nico Hülkenberg, who finally achieved a podium finish after 239 attempts, and not with luck and many retirements, but thanks to masterful tactics and perfect vehicle control. While ex-Sauber driver Valteri Bottas often lost further places at the start, his successor Hülkenberg was able to gradually move up the field until he was only held back by the dominant McLaren duo at the end. The German successfully kept Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari behind him.
Nico: "That took quite a while. I knew I had it in me somewhere. It feels kind of surreal. We just did everything right."
It is the first podium for the Hinwil squad in 10 years, when Japan's Kamui Kobayashi finished third behind Vettel and Massa in Suzuka on October 7, 2012.
The second person was with me at the birthday party of our beloved colleague Peter Lattmann. Peter Sauber, the team founder, was happy about the success in England with tears in his eyes. At the beginning, all the "race fans" were glued to their cell phones following the race, first Bortoletto's retirement, then "Hülk" in fifth place, then third with Hamilton breathing down his neck. But the German kept him at bay and the 38-year-old crossed the finish line in third place in a month's time without making any mistakes.
The jubilation was not only huge in Silverstone and Hinwil, but also at Rossberg near Winterthur, where there was a toast to the juicy points total and the jump from 9th to a strong 6th place in the team standings.
Just a few weeks ago, another ex-BMW Sauber driver, Robert Kubica, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 15 in the same perfect manner.
Nico and Robert: That was absolutely world class, congratulations and of course also to you "Baldo" on your 80th birthday from the whole Zwischengas team!
P.S. The first photo shows from left to right: Christian Witschi (SRF cameraman), Peter Sauber, Eugen Strähl (ex Sauber driver C5) and Jo Vonlanthen (ex F1 driver)
The second photo shows (from left to right): Max Welti (ex-team manager at Team Sauber), Peter Sauber and Eugen Strähl.
